Amol Akhade’s two cents to Oncology colleagues from India

Amol Akhade, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Suyog Cancer Clinics and Reliance Hospitals, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Now that there is season of oncology conferences in India,( it is throughout the year but it peaks in winter) , let me give my two cents to oncology colleagues from India about Power point presentations in oncology meetings .

May be useful for others also.

1- Do not simply copy and paste company slides when u make oral presentations even if talk is sponsored talk .
Do not simply copy and paste slides from Sources like CCO .
Smart audience can make out .
U can use them but make sure u put your own slide also.
Don’t hijack whole slideset.

2- Do not just read out the slides. Audience don’t need you for reading the slides . They can do that themselves in auditorium or at their home if u email the slides ( or just tell them the source of it 🙂😀)

3 – Don’t overshoot the time. Bad time management reflects upon you .
Generally rule of thumb is in 1 minute 2 to 3 slides max ( so for 10 mins talk , max 20 to 25 slides- lesser the better- if u can not make compact presentations then fault lies with you and not with the topic .

4 – Start mentioning COI. We seldom mention them. I agree , most of us from India , have no COI but make a habit of showing that slide. U can say u have no COI , if u don’t have any ( but show that slide )

5 – Oral presentation should be like story telling . It can be scientific story but still it is a story .
Don’t make it boring . Like any good movie, audiance is the king . They should like your story and script 🙂

6- Bit of humor helps to keep Audiance engaged and interested and sometimes helps to keep them awake also 😀😀
Don’t overdo it though. You are oncologist and not a stand up comedian.

7- Stick to the topic . Go to topic straight way . Introduction for topic can not be more than 1 or 2 slides ( I have seen some of us wasting more than half of the time on introduction of topic before actual discussion starts and they run out of time )

8 -Keep your slides simple and clutter free.
If u can not read a busy slide , your audience also won’t be able to read it .
Slide that can not be read is useless slide .

9- Audiance want to know your impressions of the Data presented and not just the data .
They have come to listen to you and not to read the slides .

Make sure you give your view of the data – good, bad or ugly – what ever it may be – at the end of the talk .

10 – Make sure you know your audience. Is it oncologist in training or in practice or seasoned oncologist or family physician or non medico persons ?
Change the slides accordingly.
Your talk is for audiance present infront of you and not for you alone .

11- Last but not the least , put at least one money 🤑 slide 💰 in your talk .
What is money slide ?
Slide which shows compilation and comparison of existing data for a particular topic.
Slide that is worth for the time and money spent by audiance to attend your talk.

Have a happy and fruitful conference season 🙂👍.”

Dr. Amol Akhade is a senior consultant medical oncologist and hemato-oncologist. He has received his super specialization training in hemato-oncology and medical oncology from Tata Memorial Hospital. He specialises in chemotherapy for hematological cancers as well as solid tumors. He also specialises in allogenic and autologous bone marrow transplant. Currently, he is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Suyog Cancer Clinics and Reliance Hospitals.